TORTELLINI → Emilia Romagna

Tortellini are a kind of pasta stuffed with ham, mushrooms or meat and are great with broth or ragu. But do you know why they have this form? The legend goes that in 1200 a young and beautiful woman decides to stay in a inn during the night and the inn owner, attracted by her beauty, stops outside her room to spy her through they keyhole. What strikes him most is her belly button! So, when he begins to make the dinner, mindful of her belly button, he decides to create a type of pasta similar to it and with meat inside! Interesting, isn’t it?

tortellini

CARBONARA → Lazio

Are you going to spend your weekend in the Italian capital? If you visit Rome, you can’t miss carbonara! Eggs and jowl bacon are the main ingredients together with pecorino cheese and pepper. Don’t trust the imitations: the original one doesn’t have cream, nor onion, garlic, or butter!

carbonara

PIZZA → Campania

If you want to respect Italian traditions, you have to try the original pizza, characterized by the three colors of the Italian flag: red as the tomato, while as the mozzarella cheese and green as the basil! We call it Margherita!

In any case, there are various types of pizza, each one has its own ingredients, but, please, don’t ask for Hawaiian pizza… Italians don’t quite like it!

pizza margherita

ORECCHIETTE E RAPE → Puglia

It’s a mix of goodness, simplicity and lightness: the turnips, a vegetable, are associated with a handmade pasta which reminds us of small ears, that’s why they are called “orecchiette”! In 1500, the ability to make “recchjtedd” 1 was considered a sort of woman’s dowry.

orecchiette e cime di rape

ARANCINI → Sicilia

If you are going to Sicily, you have to try arancini: fried rice balls with ragu, peas and cheese! By the way, there is also an ancient dispute surrounding the name of this dish: arancino o arancina? Masculine or femminine? The answer depends on the city and the shape: near Palermo people call them “arancine” (femminine) and they have a round shape, which reminds us of an orange. However, near Catania, and in dictionaries as well, they are called “arancini” (masculine) and have a drip-like shape.

arancine

arancini

ARROSTICINI → Abruzzo

Arrosticini are a sheep meat second dish! The meat is cut in small slices and roasted, that’s why they are called “arrosticini”! The legends goes that in 1930s two shepherds had a old sheep whose meat was too hard to eat, so they decided to cut it in small pieces to make it easier to eat.

arrosticini

TROFIE CON PESTO ALLA GENOVESE → Liguria

Liguria, in particular Genova, is well known for its “pesto”, which is a sort of sauce made of basin, pine nut, olive oil and garlic. You must eat it with a kind of pasta known as “trofie, typical of this region: its shape reminds us of a “corkscrew”. Some people consider this past as the poorer version of “gnocchi” because they are simply made of water and flour.

trofie al pesto

POLENTA CONCIA → Valle d’Aosta

This dish originates from the union of two typical products in this region: polenta (boiled cornmeal) and fontina cheese! Polenta, mixed with fontina cheese, is perfect to keep you warm in the long and cold Alpine nights.

polenta concia

RISI E BISI → Veneto

This was a traditional dish in the Serenissima Repubblica di Venezia: it was given to the Doge during San Marcos’s day, the 25 of April. The main ingredients? As the name suggests, “risi”, that is rice, and “bisi”, that is peas.

risi e bisi

CANEDERLI → Trentino – Alto Adige

Canederli are an extremely famous dish in Trentino-Alto Adige, but their name derives from German, in particular from Bavaria, where they are called Knödel. They are small balls made of bread and other ingredients which can vary from area to area, but they usually are speck, cheese, milk and chive.

canederli

BAGNA CAUDA → Piemonte

It’s a condiment made of garlic, olive oil and anchovy served with both raw and cooked vegetables. This Piemontese traditional dish dates back to Middle ages, when peasants used to make this dish to find relief from cold and starvation.

bagna cauda

PANE FRATTAU → Sardegna

This very peculiar dish is made of crispy slices of pane Carasau (typical Sardinian bread) are mixed with tomato and pecorino cheese sauce. At the end, they put an egg cooked in sheep broth.

pane frattau

LAGANE E CECI → Basilicata

It’s an ancient recipe, handed down from generation to generation. Lagane are a type of pasta similiar to tagliatelle, but much larger, around 2-3 cm. Together with chickpeas and tomato sauce, they are perfect during a cold winter night.

lagane e ceci

FRICO → Friuli Venezia Giulia

Frico is a sort of omelet with cheese, potatoes and butter. It was the typical dish eaten by lumberjacks and peasants, who brought it with them when they worked in the countryside. Once again a poor and simple dish… This is the secret of Italian dishes: simplicity!

frico

FILEI ALLA ‘NDUJA → Calabria

This typical pasta from Calabria is often eaten together with ‘nduja, a type of spreadable salami! Be careful though: it’s super spicy!

filei alla ‘nduja

RISOTTO ALLA MILANESE → Lombardia

This dish has a peculiar golden color, the result of the use of zafferano, which gives it an affluent appearance. The recipe dates back to 1500s, when the assistant of a painter, who loved the zafferano color, suggested the cook to add this ingredient to the risotto which was going to be served during the painter’s daughter wedding. The reaction? A total success!

risotto alla milanese

OLIVE ASCOLANE → Marche

They are stuffed with meat and then fried. This dish dates back to 1800s, when the cooks of noble families decided to come up with an idea to use the considerable amounts of meat they had.

olive ascolane

PANZANELLA → Toscana

Panzanella is a summer dish which does not require any cooking step. Boccaccio called it “pan lavato” (washed bread). It’s stale bread softened with water and with the addition of red onion, basil, olive oil and vinegar.

panzanella

SALSICCIA DI NORCIA → Umbria

Umbria is full of mountain areas and its inhabitants have always been committed to pastoralism. They developed techniques to store meat and make the famous and super delicious sausage known as “Salsiccia di Norcia”: try it yourself!

salsiccia di Norcia

COMPOSTA MOLISANA → Molise

A dish you mustn’t forget to eat in Molise is composta molisana: a fresh, colorful and summery! Basically, it’s a sort of salad with tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, capers and eggs. To top it off, this recipe requires the typical taralli from Molise called “vescottera” 2!

Alright, that’s all for today! We are sorry if you guys have got acquolina in bocca (mouth watering)! 🙂

composta molisana

Let us know what the typical dish and food is in your region and country!